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Hi – I am considering booking a family to Brazil (never been before, kids are teens). Is July a good time of year to go, weatherwise? I am reading mixed reports online. Potential places of interest to us are Rio, Iguassu Falls, Amazon and some beach time (Buzios I think). Or would it be too cold/rainy? We would be looking at 2026 so a long way off as need time to build up Avios and get another Amex 241. Thanks in advance.
BTW website timeanddate dot com can be very good for checking weather records for destinations at different times of the year.
seatemperature dot org is also useful for sea swimming.
July is winter in Brazil, think you already knew that. Having said that winters in SE Brazil (Sao Paulo/Rio) tend to be dry and cool; the summer is wet. July is also winter break for schools (the whole month is off), so Brazilians will be travelling during that time.
From experience living there:
– July should be fine for Iguazu, we were there at that time. The water flow may be less impressive (given it’s not raining during that time), but the temperature was well above 25C during the day.
– Sao Paulo/Rio will be a bit of a gamble, it could get quite cold; but I equally have enjoyed the beach in July on the Sao Paulo coast. It’s usually empty, because too cold for locals, but the water rarely dips below 22C.
– The north east (Fortaleza, Jeri) will be very much the place to be if you want to be safe for a beach holiday. It will be sunny and warm. Further south (Bahia) will be wetter. Have a look at Lencois Maranhenses as well, a wide (100km) area of sand dunes, filled with fresh water lakes that form during the rainy season earlier in the year.
– Avoid the South (Florianopolis, Porto Alegre). It will be cold.
– We visited the Amazon (Manaus and surroundings) in July as well, it’s dry season, so to a certain degree preferable (but maybe not as lush).And in terms of 241, look at using it from Madrid on IB, much better value that on BA.
Hope this helps!
@mzb – many thanks that is really helpful. I will look into the north east area for beach options. Would Buzios not have good beach weather at that time of year?
Buzios is 2.5 hours drive from Rio so the weather would be more of a gamble that time of the year.
Buzios is 2.5 hours drive from Rio so the weather would be more of a gamble that time of the year.
. Many thanks – good to know. I will do some more research. Am also considering Colombia as an alternative possibility.
How long have you got? I wouldn’t want to do more than rio and Iguazú with Just a couple of weeks.
How long have you got? I wouldn’t want to do more than rio and Iguazú with Just a couple of weeks.
2 weeks. But I am beginning to waiver because of the weather!
I would go at a better time of year if you can.
Hi – resurrecting this thread as we are still considering Brazil for July or August 2026. I am aware that it will be winter but my research tells me that the air temperatures are still quite warm (mid-high 20s, cooler in the evening), and this is the only time of year that we would be able to go. We think we could go for 3 weeks. Grateful for any thoughts on this potential itinerary:
Day 1: arrive in Rio
Days 2 and 3: Rio
Day 4: fly to Iguassu falls
Day 5: Iguassu visit (Argentine side)
Day 6: Iguassu visit Brazil side, fly to Sao Paolo
Day 7: Fly to Manaus, transfer to Amazon lodge
Days 8 and 9: Amazon
Day 10: fly to Sao Paolo or Rio then fly to Salvador
Day 11 and 12: Salvador
Day 13: transfer to Praia do Forte or fly to Jericoacora or Fortaleza (tbd)
Days 14 – 18: Praia do Forte or Jericoacora or Fortaleza
Day 19: fly to Rio or Sao Paolo
Day 20: fly to LondonNot sure if this is too much travel, and also wondering whether to go to the Pantanal instead of Amazon. All comments welcome! Thank you.
@FH2 – I’ve just come back from Colombia! And would recommend it, there is a trip report in destination advise, from me and @davefl, I’ve not read all the above, but thought I would add, we are going to Brazil in just under 3 weeks, we are there for 2 weeks, flying BA in J with a 2-4-1, we are only taking a few excursions, as we don’t want to be traveling too much, staying on Copacabana beach.
Our trips are Tijuca Forest – Hike to Caves & Falls, fight to Foz for a few days, staying at the Sanma Hotel, due to its proximity to the falls, literally a few minutes walk to the Brazilian side entrance,
visiting iguazu falls, Brazil and argentinian sides, and obviously Christ the redeemer, and sugarloaf mountain in Rio.we are going to see what else is available for a day here and there, while we are there, we wanted to go on a trip to Pantanal, but it’s the rainy season in March which can make it difficult to travel, and harder to spot wildlife, so decided to leave that until another time.
Spending a few days relaxing on Copacabana beach before flying home.BTW @JDB will not be impressed you have scheduled a trip to São Paulo, I got told off for looking at that option (At least I’m not the only one that’s been told off in last couple of days, hehe) but have since decided to shelf it.
Im not going to bother writing up a trip report, so just let me know if you need a heads up on anything, once I’ve visited on here.
@Gordon thank you very much! That sounds like a great trip. To be honest the only reason we are are going to Sao Paolo is to catch the flight to Manaus. But maybe it is possible to fly to Manaus from Rio -I have not looked into that. I have to admit that I have chosen Brazil over Colombia in order to maximise use and value of our 241 CV, as BA does not fly to Colombia and Iberia only seems to release 2 business class flights and we are a family of 4 (we don’t want to split up and take separate flights).
I am not familiar with Tijuca Forest – will look that up. Which hotel are you staying at on Copacabana Beach?
@FH2 – We flew IB CS, MAD-BOG, we only needed two seats booked up T-355 days out, I can imagine how difficult it is with a family of four, it’s sometimes hard enough obtaining redemption flights for two people.
We are staying at the Portobay, We have a sea view suite, there are many options in Rio, we pondered for quite a while, but settled on the portobay, as it was a good all rounder, and the reviews were good, and decent price, due to the cost of real estate in Rio, hotel prices are quite high, we normally stay at Hyatt properties, but the Grand Hyatt being in Barra was just too far out of Rio for us unfortunately.
Thanks @Gordon – just had a look at Portobay website and it looks like a good property and decent rates. Will bookmark it!
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